Battle of Denon (Timeline B)
The Battle of Denon was a key engagement between the 3rd Republic and the Golden Empire (GE). The Golden Empire had been winning the long, ongoing war between the two, and Fleet Admiral Duren decided to finish off the Republic once and for all by decimating their capital, the planet Denon. The event By March, the Republic's fleet was already disorganized from the constant Golden Empire attacks. There were large holes in the Republic's defenses, and Fleet Admiral Duren eventually realized that one of these holes was a straight shot to the capital. Acting fast to ensure the hole didn't close, he gathered over a third of the Golden Empire fleet for an attack that would be swift and brutal. If successful, he could perhaps send the Republic into anarchy. Unfortunately for Duren, his intelligence was somewhat flawed; although Denon itself was lightly defended, the ships in the nearby systems could be recalled to the capital at a moment's notice. By the time the GE fleet was within firing range of the Republic defenders, the Republic had just over 100 ships in orbit. The Golden Empire fleet still had a considerable advantage, with over 300 vessels total, but the Republic ships fought valiantly. The GE assault was halted long enough for reinforcements to begin arriving from the distant systems of the Republic. 45 minutes into the battle, the Golden Empire found itself outnumbered. Duren, having invested too much to simply retreat, decided to go all-in. All available Golden Empire ships were ordered to Denon to aid in the battle. However, the Republic ships kept coming as well, and both sides remained in a stalemate. 1 hour and 30 minutes into the battle, both factions had deployed nearly their entire Navies into the fight. There were approximately 1000 ships on each side, though that number was falling rapidly. At long last, the Golden Empire began to drive the Republic ships back. 2 hours into the fight, Duren sent his ships into the enemy lines, turning the Battle of Denon into a chaotic mess rivaling the Clone Wars' Battle of Coruscant. But 2 hours and 23 minutes into the fight, a series of ion cannons, hidden on the surface of the planet and disguised merely as buildings, were brought online by Admiral Phalanx. They drew their energy from the planet's civilian power grid, and were able to disable nearly a hundred Golden Empire vessels. Having suddenly lost a tenth of his fleet, Duren realized the battle would lead only to the destruction of both fleets, his and the Republic's, and ordered a retreat. Result Approximately 250 Golden Empire ships escaped intact, though the number was reduced to 100 when the crippled ships were scrapped to repair the less-damaged ones. The Republic was similarly reduced to about 100 operational ships, and used parts from the damaged vessels to repair the others. However, the Republic then converted its crippled ships into orbital gun platforms, defending Denon and ready to be refitted to operational status again when the materials were available. Also, the aftermath of this battle led to the Battle of Andilos Nebula, in which the Republic was able to capture 21 GE ships. See also * Battle of Andilos Nebula * Phalanx External links * External link Category:Up-to-date Article Category:Timeline B Category:Third Republic Category:Golden Empire